Russia, Sean Hannity, Kendrick Lamar: Your Tuesday Briefing

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Training at a self-defense camp in New Delhi. The class is part of an initiative to address sexual assault, an issue that has long been pervasive in India but is seldom discussed.CreditCreditThe New York Times

Trump’s about-face on Russia

• President Trump rejected new sanctions on Moscow on Monday, a day after the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. said that Washington would impose penalties on Russian companies that helped Syria’s chemical weapons program.

By overruling his advisers, Mr. Trump highlighted what analysts say is an inconsistent strategy toward Russia. He says he wants a good relationship with President Vladimir Putin.

A courtroom drama

Judge Kimba Wood didn’t agree to let Mr. Trump review the 10 boxes of documents and roughly dozen electronic devices before prosecutors do. But she didn’t say prosecutors would get the first look either. Discussions are to continue.

The day’s biggest surprise came when, to audible gasps in the courtroom, the Fox News host Sean Hannity was named as one of Mr. Cohen’s clients. Mr. Hannity denied it, saying that he had never paid Mr. Cohen for his services and that their discussions were brief and centered on real estate.

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Sean Hannity in 2016. On his prime-time show Monday night, he said, “My discussions with Michael Cohen never rose to any level that I needed to tell anyone that I was asking him questions.”CreditCarolyn Kaster/Associated Press

• Separately, we looked at what effect James Comey’s book tour — and his pointed critiques of Mr. Trump — might have on the former F.B.I. director’s image as a principled professional.

The power of immune therapy

• The treatment, which unleashes a patient’s immune system to kill malignant cells, has been making gains against a number of cancers.

• “I’ve been treating lung cancer for 25 years now, and I’ve never seen such a big paradigm shift as we’re seeing with immunotherapy,” said one doctor who was not involved in the study.

Billion-dollar blessings

• Under the leadership of Jerry Falwell Jr., Liberty University has become a powerful force in the conservative movement. The evangelical school in Lynchburg, Va., is now a requisite stop for Republican presidential candidates.

Its growth has largely been driven by online learning: By 2015, Liberty was the second-largest provider of online education in the U.S.

With a starting price of $35,000, the Model 3 is supposed to be Tesla’s most affordable and top-selling car.CreditJoe White/Reuters

• China, which has been in a growing trade dispute with the U.S., made a peace offering today: It said it would drop requirements this year that electric-car companies operating in China find local partners, and that the rest of the auto industry would follow.

Recommended by Alan Henry, an editor for Smarter Living: “This article on Vice’s food site, Munchies, is a long, fascinating look into the history of freeze-dried foods, and how the ‘prepper’ movement is leading to big sales. The writer lived off doomsday rations for a full week — something I hope to never have to do!”

Back Story

Each week, The Times’s crossword column, Wordplay, highlights the answer to one of the most difficult clues from the previous week’s puzzles.

Baba au rhum, a rum-flavored cake and crossword puzzle clue.CreditAndrew Scrivani for The New York Times

A baba au rhum is a rich, rum-flavored cake that is popular in France and Italy. Babas is the plural. The word appeared in Thursday’s crossword, clued as “Rum cakes,” and has been seen in only 32 other Times puzzles.

The baba originated in France and was supposedly inspired by the Polish king Stanislaw I, whose daughter Marie married King Louis XV. Stanislaw was said to be partial to a cake called Gugelhupf, though he discovered that the dry dough tasted better when dipped in liquor.

The success of the cake has spread to Italy and the U.S. Babas are now often made with raisins in their dough, and they usually resemble Bundt cakes or doughnuts in shape. Variations may use sweet wine or liqueur in place of rum.